Latest Posts
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The Philosophic Basis for Philanthropy in China
Billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are encouraging wealthy Chinese businessmen to take up philothropic giving. The WaPo picks up the story and speculates on why there has not been mucn in the way of charitble donation in China. Invariably,… Continue reading
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The Fear of National Self-Knowledge
This morning a "Letter from Beijing" in the NYT reports: Even as China’s economy and society become increasingly diverse and sophisticated, its relationship to its own history remains stubbornly mired in cover-ups and silences. A look at how high school… Continue reading
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Daoist Advice for the New York Yankees
It's been an eventful week for Daoist Yankee fans. Lost two out of three to the lowly Orioles, swept by the Rangers, and dropped another two out of three to Tampa Bay. We've slipped to a half game out in… Continue reading
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How Many Daodejings?
The start of the new semester has already taken me away from blogging more than I would like. As I settle in to the new schedule ('m always a bit discombobulated at first, adjusting to a new set of class… Continue reading
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Generating Meaning for Ourselves
As is evident from the last post, I am gearing up to teach the classics. First up, the Daodejing. I put this first because I see it as an introduction to a more expansive cosmology (compared to Confucianism). For me,… Continue reading
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Science, Religion, Daoism
An nice little piece in the NYT The Stone philosophy blog by Tim Crane (no relation) about the difference between scientific and religious knowledge and belief. Upon reading it, my first impression (which holds as my continuing impression) is… Continue reading
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UPDATE: Maybe this is good news
Earlier this summer (it’s still summer, you know…) I had lamented the Beijing urban redevelopment plan that threatened to destroy the old Gulou (Drum Tower) neighborhood of the capital city. But now comes what appears to be good news: … Continue reading
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Killing Chinese People
Frank Dikotter has a new book out about the Great Leap Forward, Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe. I haven't read it yet (mine is on order) but early reviews are in. Here's Jonathan Mirsky: In… Continue reading
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Animals are not Human
That was one thought that came to mind as I read this NYT article: "Scientists Square Off on Evolutionary Value of Helping Relatives." When I saw the headline my Confucian senses started tingling. Helping relatives is obviously a Confucian… Continue reading
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Why is this news?
So there I am yesterday, preparing for my ancient Chinese philosophy tutorial (which begins next week), when I see this headline on CNN: "Stephen Hawking: God didn't create universe." I then see a similar story on the AP wire,… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 